Rackmount network devices (such as switches and/or routers) often include a variety of components arranged and/or distributed across multiple circuit boards. As network-device technology advances, the number of design considerations and/or constraints may increase. For example, to successfully increase data transmission speeds in rackmount network devices, design engineers may need to reduce the length of the electrical traces that provide connectivity between certain components (such as optical ports, packet forwarding engines, and/or switch fabrics) on the circuit boards within the rackmount network devices.
Unfortunately, in traditional rackmount network devices, the amount of space available on those circuit boards may be extremely limited due to size constraints associated with the devices themselves. For example, as an industry standard, a 2U rackmount switch or router may have a total height of no greater than 3.5 inches. As a result, design engineers traditionally arranged and/or distributed components like packet forwarding engines and switch fabrics on one or two Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). However, while this traditional arrangement of components on one or two PCBs may have sufficed under lower data transmission speeds, the same arrangement may be insufficient and/or fail to function properly under higher data transmission speeds.
The instant disclosure, therefore, identifies and addresses a need for additional and improved apparatuses, systems, and methods for facilitating increased data transmission speeds in size-constrained rackmount network devices.